dr. stephen strange (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rehandle) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
meadowlarklogs2021-03-05 11:54 am
rehandle) wrote in meadowlarklogs2021-03-05 11:54 am
open.
WHO: Stephen Strange & you
WHERE: All around New Amsterdam.
WHEN: Sept 15th - 30th
WHAT: Getting weird in the park, visiting local grocery stores via backstreets, hanging at Red Wings, etc.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: None yet! Will edit as necessary, or pop them in subject headings. update: descriptions of deaths/violence and other aerie traumas (in threads not prompts.)
a, at a park. [ With his days spent mostly back and forth between home and the bar, and for as much as the entire city is awash with green and heat and there are spaces carved out for him in their apartment to find the peace needed to empty one's mind, sometimes you need to clear your head somewhere you can't feel other people worrying about you. Sometimes you need to clear your head somewhere you're not worrying about anyone else.
The world already knows he's wrapped up with gods, and half if not more of the people who can put the face to the name seem to be waiting on him to commit new atrocities, giving him the wide berth (or close watch, there's yet to be a run of consecutive days where he's not noticed a likely task force operative lurking on his route to work) that suspicion earns. So, given that the eyes of the world are already on him for much worse and every aspect of his life that might have suffered for it already has, he's just about out of reasons to avoid being perceived in odd lights.
A few times a week, he makes his way through the city in loose-fitting workout gear to find green space in shade under trees. And there he fluctuates between meditating, close combat training with the empty air, and practising spell gestures - fingers moving through complex patterns to absolutely no effect.
Catch him sitting in peaceful silence, sparring with imaginary foes or making his way through precise if shaky trips of the fingers. But be mindful: all eyes are a camera, and Stephen is very rarely not under somebody's watch. If you don't end up on a government list, you might well end up on a cooltalk fan forum. ]
b, about town. [ The city is recovering, doing its best to live alongside the blistering sun. Some days they get along, some days they don't, but the attempt means that the streets are busier. Once the boats stop, even more so.
He's never really been one to concern himself with the negative opinions of others, and the same remains broadly true, but being out in public is becoming less a matter of personal comfort levels and more one of practicality. With the UN an ever-lurking presence, his instinct is always to listen. Centuries of listening to whoever and whatever he chose makes that an easy habit to slip into— and not one he wants to maintain. Especially not with so many eyes on him now and a glowing chest easy to make out through any clothes he's willing to wear in the heat.
So he's taken to alternate routes. Side streets instead of shopping thoroughfares, local groceries instead of larger supermarkets. It takes him down streets he might not otherwise walk, gives him a new perspective. It also means he comes into contact with fewer people and has a better chance of processing their reactions to him when he does.
Not always a good thing, but better than giving the UN any ammunition. And it means he's less wary to stop and talk to anyone he might bump into, given the chances of it being caught on candid camera are significantly lower. ]
c, at red wings. [ Red Wings and his apartment are still his most frequented locations. He arrives at work quietly and keeps himself out of the public spaces as much as possible to avoid spooking customers. When he does take a rare shift on bar, to relieve staff for their breaks or to cover an empty slot in the schedule, it's almost always at times of lowest custom, and he's as unobtrusive as he possibly can be.
During the days, if not out front cleaning glasses waiting to be hailed for an order, he's primarily working in the back office or the stock room. Keeping things moving behind the scenes. The door to the office stays ajar when he's alone in there, an invitation to anyone who needs it while keeping him politely concealed.
When it's really dead he allows himself out to drift about doing the things he used to do without thinking: wiping down tables, resetting chairs, gathering glasses, collecting the detritus of the day.
It's perfectly possible he shouldn't have come back when he did. But this place, more than anywhere else in the city has had the chance to become so far, is home. And he misses it even when he's here. ]
(ooc: A selection of three differently located Stephen Strange Living Life prompts! Feel free to do whatever you want with them, I've left a few vague hooks in there but I'm also happy to accept any riffing off of the above or total wildcards!
If you'd like to discuss any thread possibilities feel free to hit me up at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
miscreates or sculpts#6553 @ discord!)
WHERE: All around New Amsterdam.
WHEN: Sept 15th - 30th
WHAT: Getting weird in the park, visiting local grocery stores via backstreets, hanging at Red Wings, etc.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: None yet! Will edit as necessary, or pop them in subject headings. update: descriptions of deaths/violence and other aerie traumas (in threads not prompts.)
a, at a park. [ With his days spent mostly back and forth between home and the bar, and for as much as the entire city is awash with green and heat and there are spaces carved out for him in their apartment to find the peace needed to empty one's mind, sometimes you need to clear your head somewhere you can't feel other people worrying about you. Sometimes you need to clear your head somewhere you're not worrying about anyone else.
The world already knows he's wrapped up with gods, and half if not more of the people who can put the face to the name seem to be waiting on him to commit new atrocities, giving him the wide berth (or close watch, there's yet to be a run of consecutive days where he's not noticed a likely task force operative lurking on his route to work) that suspicion earns. So, given that the eyes of the world are already on him for much worse and every aspect of his life that might have suffered for it already has, he's just about out of reasons to avoid being perceived in odd lights.
A few times a week, he makes his way through the city in loose-fitting workout gear to find green space in shade under trees. And there he fluctuates between meditating, close combat training with the empty air, and practising spell gestures - fingers moving through complex patterns to absolutely no effect.
Catch him sitting in peaceful silence, sparring with imaginary foes or making his way through precise if shaky trips of the fingers. But be mindful: all eyes are a camera, and Stephen is very rarely not under somebody's watch. If you don't end up on a government list, you might well end up on a cooltalk fan forum. ]
b, about town. [ The city is recovering, doing its best to live alongside the blistering sun. Some days they get along, some days they don't, but the attempt means that the streets are busier. Once the boats stop, even more so.
He's never really been one to concern himself with the negative opinions of others, and the same remains broadly true, but being out in public is becoming less a matter of personal comfort levels and more one of practicality. With the UN an ever-lurking presence, his instinct is always to listen. Centuries of listening to whoever and whatever he chose makes that an easy habit to slip into— and not one he wants to maintain. Especially not with so many eyes on him now and a glowing chest easy to make out through any clothes he's willing to wear in the heat.
So he's taken to alternate routes. Side streets instead of shopping thoroughfares, local groceries instead of larger supermarkets. It takes him down streets he might not otherwise walk, gives him a new perspective. It also means he comes into contact with fewer people and has a better chance of processing their reactions to him when he does.
Not always a good thing, but better than giving the UN any ammunition. And it means he's less wary to stop and talk to anyone he might bump into, given the chances of it being caught on candid camera are significantly lower. ]
c, at red wings. [ Red Wings and his apartment are still his most frequented locations. He arrives at work quietly and keeps himself out of the public spaces as much as possible to avoid spooking customers. When he does take a rare shift on bar, to relieve staff for their breaks or to cover an empty slot in the schedule, it's almost always at times of lowest custom, and he's as unobtrusive as he possibly can be.
During the days, if not out front cleaning glasses waiting to be hailed for an order, he's primarily working in the back office or the stock room. Keeping things moving behind the scenes. The door to the office stays ajar when he's alone in there, an invitation to anyone who needs it while keeping him politely concealed.
When it's really dead he allows himself out to drift about doing the things he used to do without thinking: wiping down tables, resetting chairs, gathering glasses, collecting the detritus of the day.
It's perfectly possible he shouldn't have come back when he did. But this place, more than anywhere else in the city has had the chance to become so far, is home. And he misses it even when he's here. ]
(ooc: A selection of three differently located Stephen Strange Living Life prompts! Feel free to do whatever you want with them, I've left a few vague hooks in there but I'm also happy to accept any riffing off of the above or total wildcards!
If you'd like to discuss any thread possibilities feel free to hit me up at
no subject
The news has been a break of the status quo. It's put him in surprisingly easy spirits. ]
Small payment. If you wanted to stretch to some of the royalties...
no subject
I'm not feeling that generous. I've already been gently let go as the mortals say, from my prior occupation of office business. I do need some kind of income—Odin's vault is not at my disposal in this world.
[ alas. can't be a snotty rich kid. ]
no subject
Loki hasn't been so lucky. ]
Sorry to hear it. [ Not that he doesn't had Odin's vault - though that could've come in handy, really. ] But I'm glad to see you landing squarely on your own two feet.
[ Never let it be said that Loki lacks ingenuity. ]
no subject
With a knife, if I have anything to say about it.
[ there's something sharp in his voice. ]
The mortal mundanity isn't for me, anyway.
no subject
Woe betide whosoever incurs the wrath of god.
[ Despite himself, he's looking forward to seeing that particular fallout come to pass. ]
no subject
It's easier for them if we're hated, then they don't have to deal with the threat. [ he clucks the word. ] And that's what we are. I'd rather not lay down and take a nap like a good boy.
[ he throws up a hand. ]
Fuck the UN. And fuck Pulsar, for that matter.
no subject
Fuck the UN. And fuck Pulsar.
It's been a good few weeks since he's felt devious. Longer since he felt rallied.
The smile may not reach Loki's eyes, but the sharpness of it reflects in Stephen's as he matches with one of his own. ]
I'll drink to that.
[ Fuck the UN. It might take him a while longer to find a way, but image correction as battle tactics is part of why they went public in the first place. It would be a waste if he bowed under the weight of a little dislike now. ]
no subject
That's a little better.
[ there's a snort. ]
Would you, the Sorcerer Supreme, allow someone else to define you? I'd almost be disappointed if that were the case.
no subject
Shut up and drink my whisky.
[ He's got the point. The answer is decidedly no. ]
Sorcerer or not, nothing's ever stopped me from being supremely difficult.
[ Badumtsh. And confirmation: he's waking up. The UN are to have at least one more challenge on their hands. ]
no subject
[ somehow a compliment and an insult? well, Loki plays it well. he twists the neck of the whisky between his fingers. ]
You're not used to being the enemy. I suppose I've seen enough of both sides to know how grey the line can be.